I'll Try To Understand
by Ashton Li
Summary: It's sometimes hard to understand the feelings your friends are going through. The pain they feel is too hurtful to even know about. But the feelings you have for that one person would never let you forget about her hurt, because it was your hurt too.


**Hello! Well, as my fifth (It actually only my fourth one finished) Naruto fic, I feel rather proud of this one. I honestly think this one might be one of my top favorite fics I've ever wrote (Including all the other anime I write fics for).**

**Just so you know, this story has nothing to do with them being ninja. They're just normal kids with normal lives (somewhat). If you have a problem with that, I'm sorry, you should still read it though.**

**It's in Shino's POV and the main characters are Shino, Hinata, and Kiba (Akamaru's in there too along with Naruto, but they're not my main focus!). The pairing is…well…I never give away my pairings…it's just not me. If you read some of my other Naruto fics, you might figure out the pairing. That's the only clue you get.**

**Oh, before I forget, I do not own these character! If I ever do, I'll let you know, but that's not likely to happen.**

**Enjoy! And, please, if possible, comment. I'm unsure if my short stories are any good…**

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**I'll Try To Understand**

Did she understand the feelings I held for her? Was she that clueless about it all? Day after day, she would constantly hurt herself because _he_ didn't notice her again. Why does she even bother? Her unrequited love was so painful…I felt ashamed to watch her suffer. Why didn't I help her? Was there a reason behind all of it? She has ignored my feelings for so long…maybe I should understand what she's going through. She likes someone that doesn't like her, I like her but she doesn't like me. It makes perfect since, right? I just don't understand why she can't love me instead of him. What reasons are behind it?

I've told her many times that I liked her. She always replied the same thing: "I'm flattered, Shino, but you know I like Naruto." Naruto…that fool! He was so blind to the feelings Hinata held for him. No one understood her, but I did…or at least I tried. Though she's shy, she's so complex…so hard to understand. Hinata, she's in so much pain; I want to help her, but I can't. She always rejects me. I'm trying to forget about these feelings, but they creep back into my heart every time I see the girl. Every time I see her smile. Every time she speaks. Everything she does makes these feelings come back. I tried to understand her, why couldn't she try to understand me?

"Shino! Hey, lets hangout today!" Kiba yelled to me.

"…no…" I always gave such simple replies.

"Come on! Why? What, are you going to go stalk Hinata?"

I glared at him. "What does Hinata have to do with this?"

He hesitated to say anything back. The boy let out a sigh. "Man, you've been in a bad mood lately."

"I can't help it…"

"You like her that much?"

"I guess…"

"Too bad Hinata is so in love with Naruto."

"But he doesn't even notice her! Hinata doesn't understand that! She's killing herself over it!"

"I know…and it's killing you too. It hurts to see Hinata this way. Her smile is fake. She comes to school in tears…all over a boy."

"Why can't I just brush her away so easily? Why do these feelings keep haunting me?"

"She addicting…"

"Addicting?"

"You'll never be able to forget about Hinata until you find someone else to love."

"I could never love anyone else…"

Kiba bit his bottom lip. "I thought you would say that."

"Just thinking about this gives me a headache," I held my head in my hands.

"That's why you should come with me and relax! A day without seeing Hinata outside of school might be good for you."

"Eh…you might be right."

"Then, come on! Lets get going!" Kiba pulled me down the road.

Kiba wasn't the brightest person, but he was always a good friend. Whenever I saw him outside of school, he always had his dog, Akamaru, with him. Kiba and I never talked that much. He was never the type of person I felt like I could go to tell my secrets to. I learned over the years that he was actually good for some things. When I'm in a bad mood, we would have a friendly fight to get me out of it. Kiba was the first friend I made. He was the type of friend who would never let you down.

The soft breeze pulled through our hair. It was a very calm day. The two of us went to the park to let Akamaru run around. Hinata usually would come with us on these nice days, but it was better to leave her be. I needed my space away from her. Though, the three of us used to always be together. I was the reason Hinata became our friend. She was always sitting alone in school and at the park after school. I decided she could use a friend. Kiba thought I was crazy. I made him go home…he was too loud. I didn't want him to scare her. Hinata was fragile. She was beautiful. I was scared she would reject my friendship offer, but she didn't. That day, when I first befriended her, she gave me the sweetest smile. That smile always warmed up my cold heart, but that was over nine years ago. That smile just tears me to pieces now.

"Remember when we came here when we were little?" Kiba smiled.

"Yeah…a lot of people came her when we were little. Sakura and Ino would pick flowers out in the field. Sasuke got harassed by all the girls over in the tree house. Chouji always had a big picnic…of course it was all for himself. Shikamaru would be over on the hills just watching the clouds. Naruto would be pouting that the girls weren't hanging all over him. And, Hinata…she was always swinging on the swings…all alone…"

"Oh…sorry, Shino…I shouldn't have brought that up…"

I shook my head. "Don't be. It's my own fault."

"Tomorrow is Friday. Are we still going to get ice cream like we normally do?"

"I don't see why we shouldn't. It's not like I'm having a fight with Hinata. I'm just a little frustrated. By tomorrow, everything should be fine."

"If you say so. I'll call Hinata tonight to make sure she remembers."

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed.

Kiba stood up. "I better get home then. Will you be ok on your own?"

"Who do you think you're talking to? Just take care of yourself."

"Fine, fine. Akamaru, we got to get going! Come on, boy!" Kiba ran off with his dog trailing behind him.

"Maybe I should get a pet…" I mumbled.

I still didn't feel like going home yet, so I just walked around the park. I passed the purple and blue swings I pushed Hinata on. I stared at the slide that we slid down when we were so young. She sat it my lap as we lashed down the turns. That was when we were seven years old…nine years ago. Those memories are painted vividly in my mind. I would never forget those events. They're just too important to me.

The wind began to pick up. The setting sun painted pink and purple in the sky. I shared a day like this once with Hinata. I don't spend time alone with her anymore though. I'm too scared of the things I might say. My feelings are too strong to stay alone with her. I would do something I would regret. I couldn't think about those types of things, so I just made my way home…all alone.

"Shino!" my father called for me. It was already morning and I was still tired from the lack of sleep I was getting.

I stumbled down the stairs. "Yeah?"

"Your friends are here," he explained.

"Huh?" I yawned as I looked up. Standing in the doorway were Hinata and Kiba. I was shocked and embarrassed to see them standing there. I was embarrassed for many reasons: I was still in my pajamas, my house was a mess, and I was fully exposed; I couldn't hide from them.

Hinata giggled. "Did we wake you, Shino?"

"Sorry, man, I thought you would be up by now!" Kiba smirked.

"You do this on purpose. Give me five minutes and I'll be ready," I walked back up the stairs.

I didn't understand why Hinata was here. She stopped coming to pick me up ever since I admitted I liked her. Was this some stupid plan of Kiba's? It was too confusing. I had no time to think about it. I grabbed my school uniform and hurried to change. I hated the uniform we had to wear. It was uncomfortably tight. I felt like it was glued on me. The white, button-up shirt clung to my chest and the dark blue pants just didn't feel right to me. Kiba told me to alter it, but I didn't want to get in trouble. I should have listened to him because he didn't get in trouble for making changes to his outfit. All I did was keep my sunglasses on. I would never like being out in public without them on. My eyes exposed too much of myself. I ran back down the stairs with my bag in hands. Waving good-bye to my father, the three of us left.

"I'm so happy that today is Friday!" Hinata smiled.

"Yeah, it's ice cream day!" Kiba yelled.

Hinata ran in front of us and turned to us. "Hey, maybe today we can do more than just ice cream."

"What else is there to do?" I mumbled as I walked past the girl.

"Well, I don't know."

"Maybe we can rent some movies or something?" Kiba suggested. I never liked his suggestions.

"Or, maybe we could go down by the park. I haven't been there in a while."

"The park…?" I was shocked that she would even mention that place. I didn't want to go that place with her there. That would be worse than the memories that linger in my mind. It would be too painful for me to go through!

"Yeah, the park. I miss the swings. Remember when you would push me on them, Shino? That was so nice."

"Mm…I remember…"

"If we go to the park, we have to stop at my house first so I can pick up Akamaru. He would love to go to the park again," Kiba smiled.

"Again? You went to the park without me?" Hinata joked.

"It was just on our way home," I explained.

"That's a lie!" Hinata yelled. She was a kind, calm person; Hinata never yelled.

"Calm down, Hinata, it was my idea. You were busy anyways," Kiba reminded her.

"No I wasn't! I went home yesterday with nothing to do. I was all alone! What makes you think I was busy anyways?"

I stopped walking. "Because…because you're always looking for Naruto! You'd rather go stalk him then be with us!"

"You…you're so insensitive!" Hinata's tears began to form. "I don't even know why I became your friend! You don't care about me…"

"It was because you were so lonely!"

Kiba held Hinata's ear up to his mouth and whispered, "Shino cares for you more than you would ever know. You just have yet to realize it. Stop fantasizing over Naruto and get with someone who actually cares about you." Which I actually didn't know for awhile…

Hinata pushed Kiba away. She ran off towards the school.

"I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!" I already regretted everything I said. It was too mean.

"Forget about it, Shino. Lets get going," Kiba pulled me from my spot. The two of us barely made it to school on time.

Somehow, we still ended up going out for ice cream. Hinata was acting like her normal self. She never mentioned anything that happened that morning. I was happy that she didn't. We sat there as Kiba rambled on about how hard the test was today. Hinata just smiled and nodded. I slowly ate my ice cream. I had nothing to contribute to the conversation…the test was easy to me.

"AH!" Kiba shouted. "BRAIN FREEZE! BRAIN FREEEEEEZE!"

Hinata giggled. "You should eat the ice cream slow like Shino does."

I wasn't eating slow for that reason, I just didn't want the ice cream.

"Shino, are you ok? If…if you're worried about what happened this morning, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so mad. I was the one that was out of line." Hinata explained.

"It doesn't matter. I have already forgotten about that already," I placed my spoon down. I could no longer eat the sweet, cold substance.

Kiba stared at me as if I was crazy. "Y-you're not going to eat anymore?"

"Take it," I handed him the rest of the vanilla ice cream. It was all too predictable what would happen next…

"AH! BRAIN FREEZE!"

Kiba was so obvious…that's why I liked having him as a friend.

After Kiba's little moment, we walked to his house to get Akamaru and made our way to the park. I pushed Hinata on the swing. We would usually change out of our school uniforms, but not that day. We didn't care. All that mattered to us was that we were hanging out with our friends.

"Look…" Hinata jumped off the swing.

"Huh?" I looked up to see where she was going. A blonde boy was walking past the park. It seems that our plans of just the three of us changed. What was Hinata planning on saying to Naruto?

Kiba ran up to me. "This is going to end bad."

"What makes you think that?"

"Hinata's going to tell Naruto how she feels…and she's going to be rejected."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because…Naruto is already going out with someone else."

"Someone…else? She's going to be torn to pieces!"

"Just…be ready for her to fall in your arms."

"Why mine?!"

"Because you're the only one left she can truly trust."

"NO!" Hinata's scream pierced through my heart. Her heart was too fragile for that.

And that day, I don't think I would ever forget. Hinata was too shocked to even walk over to us. She had been rejected by her true love, just like I had been so many times. So, maybe she would finally understand how I felt. There was nothing worse than being stabbed in the heart that many times. And, for some reason, I felt sorry for her. I wished for her to be with Naruto so she wouldn't have to suffer. I would rather suffer than let Hinata…my best friend…suffer. Though, I still had yet to figure out all the details when it came to her feelings.

"My knees hurt," Hinata whispered as I wrapped them up. When she dropped to the sidewalk in pain, her knees took a good beating.

"You're knees will be ok, but I'm worried about your heart," I mumbled.

"I'll be fine…"

Kiba stared at us. "I have to get home. It's getting late, and Akamaru is getting cranky. Hinata, take care, ok? And, Shino, do the girl a favor, and walk her home."

I nodded to him as he left.

"Kiba was right…"

"Huh?" I looked up to Hinata. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I should have listened to him…"

Confusion struck me.

"When he whispered in my ear, he said 'Shino cares for you more than you would ever know. You just have yet to realize it. Stop fantasizing over Naruto and get with someone who actually cares about you.' I should have realized that I should just be happy with what I have. I have two loving friends…you and Kiba…and…and…"

"Hinata…I'd do anything for you…I love you…"

She stood up and fell into my arms. "I'd do anything for you too…it just took me too long to realize it. I'm sorry, Shino…I don't know if I'm capable to love anymore. But…lets give it a chance…because I want to love you too…"

She no longer had to suffer over that boy. Her hurt still lingered close to her heart, but now she had me to bring her happiness. That night, we watched the sunset together…just lying on the hill. The sky was painted with purple and pink. The breeze was calm. And, for the first time in forever, it was just the two of us watching the sunset. It was special. It was…wonderful…she's my world…I couldn't live without her…

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**FINISHED!**

**I hope you enjoyed it. And, just incase you didn't read it at the top…please comment. I really want to know if my shorter stories are any good.**

**Thank you!**

**Oh, and if you're wondering, the 'someone else' who Naruto is going out shall be Sasuke! Why? Because I hate Naruto and Sasuke…and they belong together because Sakura belongs with Lee…and Ino with Shikamaru…no one other than each other are left for them. Mwahahahah! Uh…sorry about that…**


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